


the constellations on your cheeks

by aloeverava



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Childhood Friends, Established Relationship, Extended Metaphors, Fluff, M/M, No Spoilers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Tsukki Really Likes Dinosaurs, Yamaguchi Tadashi's Freckles, Yams Really Likes Space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:55:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25926985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aloeverava/pseuds/aloeverava
Summary: “...Do you know why I know so much about stars?” The question is almost carried away with the breeze that flows past them in that moment, spoken so softly Tsukishima might have imagined it. But his intrigue grabs onto the tail end of the question mark, his interest piqued. He doesn’t need to say anything, only slightly raising an eyebrow for Yamaguchi to go on.
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 107





	the constellations on your cheeks

**Author's Note:**

> big big thank you to stella (@thelittlebirdthattoldyou) and keith (@NikAdair) for beta reading! <3

“...and that’s Orion, and somewhere over there is the North Star. And that one might be the Big Dipper, but it looks an awful lot like the Little Dipper. And if you look over there—hey, are you even listening?”

Tsukki just pinches his face as if he isn’t trying to hold back a grin, grunting something in affirmation. He _is_ looking at the stars, but not the ones in the sky. No, he’s looking at the dozens of them spattered across the bridge of Yamaguchi’s nose and his cheeks, the ones peeking out from underneath his collar, the very ones that become more contrasted when Yamaguchi flushes from his chest up.

“You sure know a lot about stars,” the blond says, finally tearing his eyes away from his boyfriend. He turns his head skyward, the way Yamaguchi has been laying for the last hour. Lacing his fingers over his stomach, he closes his eyes slightly. Don’t get him wrong, Tsukishima didn’t want to stop looking at Yamaguchi now—or ever, for that matter—but looking directly at stars could damage your eyes. He learned that in second grade, when the solar eclipse came around and his teacher told everyone to stay inside and not to _dare_ even going near the windows. She had been afraid that they would turn their gazes to the sky without a shred of self-preservation, sacrificing their poor, vulnerable sight for a spectacle they didn’t even understand.

Tsukishima could say that he truly understood right now, as he stared at the back of his eyelids. Bursts and dots of color dance in the void of his vision; he counts them absently. It’s then that he realizes Yamaguchi hasn’t continued his rant about constellations or begun to rattle his ear off about how far away each of the burning balls of gas in the sky is from the earth.

It’s unsettling. Yamaguchi is the talkative one, not Tsukishima. Turning his head once more, the taller cracks one eye open. His field of vision is half blurry, half clear as he peers through the edge of his glasses lens. The faint line of his glasses frames interrupts Yamaguchi’s face, so he takes them off, annoyed. Folding and tucking them onto the front of his shirt, he looks back at the boy, who now meets his gaze. Much blurrier but at least more consistent, Yamaguchi’s large, round eyes blink at him owlishly.

“What did you do that for?” he asks.

“My eyes were getting tired,” Tsukishima lies easily. He withholds the truth only because he knows that Yamaguchi sees right through him, but chooses not to say anything.

Pale pink mouths spread into curves, one of them much bigger than the other. The brunet’s teeth peek through his lips, his eyes crinkling as the smile swallows up his entire face. _Like stars becoming a galaxy,_ Tsukishima thinks. The analogy sounds stupid even in his own head, but it prompts him to return the fond glance, even if it is much less enthusiastic.

The rustling of grass lets Tsukishima know that Yamaguchi is rolling onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow so he can look at his boyfriend. Despite being the only people around for miles, Tsukishima feels the fleeting panic of someone seeing them.

Almost as if reading his mind, Yamaguchi immediately soothes, “It’s two in the morning and we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“I know that,” is Tsukishima’s way of saying that he’s grateful for the reassurance.

More rustling of the grass beneath their bodies, the crackle of browned leaves and the shuffling of windbreaker sleeves against their polyester material.

And then the ghost of Yamaguchi’s warm breath, which doesn’t smell like anything in particular, but tells Tsukishima’s nose “home” somehow nevertheless.

And then lips that feel much too soft against Tsukishima’s chapped ones are moving slowly against his, so as not to disturb the night air or the silence they’ve created. Eyes flutter shut and hands travel to each other’s waists, a small sigh sounding from one of their mouths.

When Yamaguchi pulls away, propping himself on top of Tsukishima by his elbows, the boy laying on the ground almost snorts at the irony. _I was just staring at those stars,_ he thinks. _And now here they are, in the sky._

They part for a breath, the smile on Yamaguchi’s face so contagious Tsukishima can’t help but feel his cheeks stretch into a grin. It’s all so _stupid_ , Tsukishima thinks distantly. No one should be able to make someone smile just _because._ That was the reason he had spent the majority of his life in denial of his feelings for Yamaguchi—what kind of person wanted to crack a smile at the sight of someone’s face?

Tsukishima Kei, apparently. Specifically, when he looked into the depths of his universe and counted the stars littered across his nose, the slope of his lips that drew him in like a black hole, and the two supernovas shining with all too much brilliance, framed by delicate lashes.

“You’re staring at me,” Yamaguchi giggles softly. Tsukishima has to look away for his own sanity, for the sake of his eyes. If you stared at the sun for too long, you would go blind—imagine what would happen if he dared to set his gaze on an entire galaxy of stars for longer than he should.

“And?”

“...Do you know why I know so much about stars?” The question is almost carried away with the breeze that flows past them in that moment, spoken so softly Tsukishima might have imagined it. But his intrigue grabs onto the tail end of the question mark, his interest piqued. He doesn’t need to say anything, only slightly raising an eyebrow for Yamaguchi to go on.

The boy rolls back into his place next to Tsukishima, a brief flash of disappointment panging through the blond before Yamaguchi’s hands find his, playing with his fingers.

 _He’s nervous,_ Tsukishima notices. He squeezes the digits dancing between his own, an unspoken question pulsing through his grip. _What is it?_

“It’s stupid,” he mutters in response. The blush on his face is practically audible; there’s no need for daylight when you know this boy and his habits better than the back of your own hand.

A beat.

“Tsukki… your name means ‘moon,’ doesn’t it?”

“...I think so. Why?” He doesn’t know why he bothers to reply when Yamaguchi sounds like he’s talking more to himself than Tsukishima.

“I think the first time I heard that was when we were… eight, maybe? I don’t know why, but it infatuated me.” (What he means is _You infatuated me,_ but he doesn’t need to say so.) “You had dinosaurs and I had… well, dinosaurs, too. I really wanted to be like you,” they both laugh softly at the sentiment. “But I also developed this obsession with space.”

Tsukishima raises an eyebrow at Yamauguchi’s blurry figure even though he can’t see him. For a moment he considers putting his glasses back on, stupid field of vision be damned. But the hand not intertwined in Yamaguchi’s stays put at his side, instead picking at a few blades of grass.

“I didn’t know that,” Tsukishima says quietly, if not a bit guiltily.

“Don’t,” the other reassures, smiling. “I was really embarrassed about it, though I’m not exactly sure why.” Tsukishima hums in acknowledgement. “Anyways, it started with learning about the moon. How it waxes and wanes and why it glows only because of the sun, and all the different phases. That’s why I always insisted we walked the long way when we went to the library to look at the dinosaur books. If i could just get the slightest glimpse at the covers of those space books, it would make my day, and even if I didn’t…” he trails off once more, shifting onto his side again. This time, Tsukishima does the same. On one side of their faces, the grass, prickly and a little annoying underneath their cheeks. On the other side, the expanse of the night sky, a metonym for their love, beautifully poetic in the cheesiest way possible.

“Even if you didn’t?” Tsukishima prompts.

“You were happy.”

A furrowed brow. “I was happy?”

“So I was happy,” Yamaguchi quickly replies, as if stating that two plus two was four.

A beat, one where not just Tsukishima Kei, but what feels like the rest of the world, is rendered silent.

“...You’re so stupid.” _I love you._

“I know.” _I love you too._

**Author's Note:**

> weeee this is the first thing i've written that i'm actually proud of in,, a While!! and it isn't,, angst,,,???
> 
> n e wayz cudos and komments appreciated as always <3


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